Robstown ISD trustee gets paid almost $29,000 to replace high school A/C unit

ROBSTOWN - A Robstown school board member was paid nearly $29,000 by the school district for air-conditioning work he did at Robstown High School earlier this year.

Trustee Robert Tapia, who owns Icy A/C Inc., said he did nothing wrong when he accepted two payments totaling $28,892 to replace a 15-ton air-conditioning unit that cools the high school cafeteria.

Tapia has said he was the lowest bidder and did not have access to the bids.

"All the process was followed and everything is on the record," he said.

State law does not prevent school board members from working for, or owning, companies that do business with the district, although it is considered a conflict of interest that must be disclosed by the board member.

Tapia filed a formal conflict of interest disclosure on his air-conditioning business in July 2011, according to district records.

Among the three companies that submitted bids to replace the A/C unit, Tapia's bid proposal was not the lowest, according to copies of the bids obtained through the Texas Public Information Act.

However, the lowest bid, at $14,935, was rejected, thus making Tapia's the lowest.

A handwritten note on W. White Air Conditioning's bid says it was rejected because it did not provide for the replacement of the 15-ton condenser. Owner Wayne White could not be reached for comment.

The business office did not stamp a received notice on Tapia's bid as it did on the other two.

Jesus Alejandro, who is overseeing the district's business office while the district is without a business officer, could not be reached for comment.

The district never issued a request for proposals for the replacement because district policy says the district must only request proposals for anything more than $50,000. Instead, the district's maintenance and operations director typically asks for quotes from interested companies if work is expected to be less than $50,000.

Records show Tapia was paid $20,000 on Sept. 5 and $8,892 on Sept. 13 to remove and replace the unit, test it and haul off the old unit.

Tapia's term on the school board ends in November. He is not running for re-election.